The Brave Story Retold
by Sevrian Kharr
Summary: Germonique mentions that Ajora wanted to summon the Zodiac Braves. He was executed for that, but what if, years later some people were able to summon the braves, but...instead of the holy warriors who defeated the lucavi long ago, the Braves had falled victim to their enemies, becoming distorted versions of themselves, and only the truly worthy were able to cleanse their spirit?


Chapter One: Here Comes a New Challenger!

_Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy Tactics or any movie/game referenced to in this story. I do own the OC though '-'_

**Shouts/Spells/Skills**

_Thoughts_

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><p>The sound of metal hitting rock could be heard throughout the courtyard of the Beoulve state as the second youngest son of the legendary Balbanes Beoulve marched in with his armor. It was a black full plate armor, beneath which was a chainmail made of the thickest metal and under armor on his lower body one could see red pants. His face was covered with a skull mask just as the rest of his head was covered with a helmet; which didn't have any protection over the face, making it seem that the mask was always intended to be there. He was Sevrian Beoulve, the Death Knight, feared on the battlefield as one of the only generals to ever match the great Orlandu technique by technique. As his title suggested, he was a master of the deathly arts, and poisons and their workings were among his area of expertise.<p>

He entered the room where Zalbag and Dycegard were talking about the latest efforts in the war, and nodded to both brothers as he took off his helmet, showing his long white hair; it lost its original darker color since he started studying the "dark arts"; his blue eyes and the beard that covered his lower face. He smiled to his sick father. He knew the symptoms the Heavenly Knight had, but the man was too proud to admit being taken by surprise by a conspirator, and so he always only took enough of the antidote to stabilize his condition, but never enough to fully heal. He noticed that although Alma was there, Ramza was nowhere in sight but decided not to mention that, since he knew his father had a rather soft spot for the kid.

- I return from the battlefield. Goltana's men have fled the battle after the first three battalions fell to my unit. They have now vowed to petition a vote for truce negotiations until a solution to the conflict is found. I also brought you this. – Sevrian pulled a vial from within his armor and handed it to his father – your medicine. The investigation about who planned this is still ongoing…

He would have continued, but the youngest Beoulve rushed into his father's bedroom and to his bedside, a concerned expression stamped upon his face.

- I heard your condition had worsened, father. I came as soon as I could, but the Academy was under attack…I'm sorry father.

- Worry not, Ramza, my dear son. Thanks to your brother I am going nowhere anytime soon. We are hoping to catch whoever it was that poisoned me unprepared now that we have a specialist in death caring for me. – The knight gave Sevrian a warm smile, and his son returned it with pride shining through in his mother's blue eyes. – But that is not why you are here my son. You are now a squire in the academy…is Delita among your colleagues? He is family to me…especially now that young Teta has agreed to be engaged to your brother…

Sevrian chuckled at that and looked to the youngest of the Beoulve family, a warm smile tugging at his lips for his favorite brother. A moment later, the smile faded as he turned to his father, a serious expression on his face.

- Our Knight Academy, under attack? Father, has there ever been such lax in guard, even during special events? – His father shook his head and he looked toward Ramza once again, a thoughtful look upon his face. – Something is not right…with your blessing father, I would like to investigate this matter, and accompany Ramza for the time being.

The other two started to mount a protest, listing that the Death Knight's efforts in the war so far had guaranteed them many victories and allies, but if he were to refrain from joining the field in the coming battles, they were bound to lose morale. Balbanes was having none of it, the fact that his youngest, a cadet, was the one to intercept an attack, what happened to the knights that were stationed as the guards of the Academy? The prince's trajectory passed through the Academy and as such the guards had to be there, and the fact that they were not worried him. Were the thieves supposed to have succeeded in attacking the Prince's envoy? Were they a distraction from the main attack? He needed to know more, and he needed someone he could trust to do so.

- Sevrian, my son, you'll go with Ramza and investigate what is happening. I will not tolerate an attack on Prince Larg right under the nose of my house. You will stay with him for as long as you need to comprehend what is going on. And please, report directly back to me with any finding you make.

Sevrian and Ramza bowed to their father and turned, already walking away from the room he was resting in. No one noticed as Dycegard's face darkened somewhat for the slightest of moments before he reigned himself in and smiled kindly to his father, abiding by his decisions and continuing their talk of the war, the approaching end making the old man's face open in a smile. _So foolish, so predictable_.

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><p>- Ramza! Finally found you…The captain says that all cadets have been called to Igros Castle, and we leave immediately. – The messenger paused to breathe and looked to the side, where Sevrian stood in full gear once again. – Oh, Sevrian, sir, I hadn't seen you. – A hasted salute was given before he started off toward the next cadets, still delivering the message – You better regroup with your squad, they leave in one minute.<p>

As the messenger left, Ramza nodded toward his brother and made for the exit of the estate, while the Death Knight seemed to melt into darkness and disappear into the air. Moments later he was beside Delita, his brother-in-law and actually laughed out loud when the boy jumped away when he appeared, a frightened expression crossing his face for a moment before mock anger crossed it.

- I hate it when you do that, you know?

The boy said as he punched the Death Knight's arm, much to the surprise, and fear, of all his squad mates. His answer was another laugh as he scratched upon his covered chin and looked around; waiting for something Delita correctly assumed was Ramza. Seconds later the youngest son of Balbanes rushed through the gates of the family estate and stopped in front of the duo, his face twisted into mock indignation.

- You did your dark travel again and did not take me with you!

Sevrian laughed at his brother and nodded to Delita, who was watching the scene with some anticipation in his eyes. It was always fun to watch these "battles". But as soon as Sevrian started forming a reply to Ramza's accusations, he stopped and shook his head, reminded of more important things they needed to do if they were to succeed in finding who was behind this farce of an attack.

- We must go. I hope the rest of the squad is aware we much make for Igros immediately, Delita?

The brown haired boy nodded his head and called for the troops to follow Ramza and the Death Knight as they marched to the Castle of Igros, where they would receive further orders from their superior knights. Ramza, Sevrian and Delita were making small talk about the time the two of them were kids and the Death Knight would play with them on the Mandalia Plains as well as inside the estate of the Beoulve family, where Delita and Teta were raised most of their lives. It was a day's travel to the Plains and another day to arrive at Igros, but they were on forced march, which meant they'd cover that distance in half the time, if it took that long.

Sevrian was about to ask his brother about his betrothed, Alma – The girl was adopted into the Beoulve family after her parents died in an attack from Goltana's men, to which Balbanes felt responsible for, and fell in love with Ramza, who practically begged their father to allow their marriage – when the sight of rogues on the secluded road they usually took made the phrase die in his mouth and he raised a closed hand for the company to halt as he observed the scene.

- …Don't be stupid, Noah. We need to get to the Marquiss, and for that end, we need this pawn alive. Let's rough 'im up a bit, but don't kill 'im.

He took a step forward and so he was able to see a blonde kid, roughly the same age as Ramza, kneeling in front of a thief and a squire, there were some other rogue squires positioned around the clearing, and three trained Chocobos were further to the left. Sevrian looked back to his company and saw that out of all his men, only Delita and Ramza had their weapons drawn and were ready for combat, and although it was disappointing to see the lack of willingness of the others, he was proud his brother was ever the knight, honoring the Beoulve name.

- First things first, let us establish a goal here, do we annihilate the enemy forces or do we concentrate our efforts on rescuing the captured knight?

- Of course we rescue him!

Both Delita and Ramza had spoken at the same time and loudly enough that the enemy became aware of their location, which made Sevrian smirk at them and disappear in darkness, but not before saying "Go on then." As the battle started and both his brothers; Delita was after all, his brother-in-law; gave the still not ready recruits their orders, the Death Knight appeared behind the surrounded blonde, his own blade drawn but not in a defensive position, it was actually pointing to the ground, in a relaxed grip while the nearest thief trembled upon recognizing the masked knight.

- D-D-Death Knight!

His panic did not transfer to the others, who were upon the rest of the company, leaving him and the other two squires alone with Sevrian. Noah – as that was the thief's name – took a step back before recomposing, remembering the reason why they were after the Marquis in the first place. It had nothing to do with money or a stupid fight for equality like that Wiegraf believed so blindly upon, but they were under orders, from Lord Dycegard himself to cause these revolts. The man was hoping to kill his youngest brother, Ramza, in his bid to demoralize and kill his own father. They had been assured that only Ramza was unaware of the ploy, which probably meant that the Death Knight would help them, right?

- …**Night Sword!**

Just as he was about to address the Death Knight, a blood crystal rose from the ground and enveloped him, draining all life he had in his body from him and as the crystal descended back to the darkness it came from, Sevrian knew that if he had ever been wounded in this battle, that blood he just collected would heal him and scar his own wounds. As the corpse fell to the ground, he looked toward his company and saw that many of the soldiers under his brother's command were fleeing the battle, deserting the three of them even as Ramza impaled yet another one of the Chocobos, making it so the enemy had no healers in their midst while Delita dealt with one of the squires that tried to flank his best friend, a swift slash to his torso and the man fell to the ground, the wound too grave for him to continue fighting. That left them with five more enemies to kill, and all of them were now in the middle of the clearing, which was surrounded by rocks. They formed something for a circle, not leaving each other's backs unprotected as they moved in circles, trying to keep all three of the Hokuten knights in their sight. Sevrian motioned for the two remaining cadets to advance while he started chanting something from where he was, and as the two approached, he struck.

- **Mighty thunder, hear my call!**

As the incantation ended, the sky above the little group of enemies darkened and an explosion could be heard as the sky itself bent to his will and a Thunder spell hit three of the men, making them fall to the ground, lifeless and the remaining two were made short work of by the cadets of the Hokuten, who then approached the rescued target and their leader. Ramza and Delita watched as the kid proceeded to kneel in front of their brother and literally beg for aid in rescuing the Marquis, who had been taken by a secondary faction within the Death Corps itself. _Infighting will benefit us in the long run…We should report this to father as it is, after all, good progress on what we had so far… _With that, the Death Knight turned to Algus, as the kid had introduced himself, and smiled behind the mask.

- We'll help you, kid. I'm Sevrian Beoulve, and those are Ramza Beoulve and Delita Hyral, my brother-in-law.

- It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm Algus Sadalfas, cadet with the Limberry Aegis knights.

He nodded to the kid, but noticed the look of contempt he sent Delita's way as he was introduced. The kid was one of many who believed that noble blood was superior to "commoners" and that was a view that was not going to be tolerated as long as he was with the Hokuten, and Sevrian would make sure he understood that. But right now they needed to report to Balbanes with the findings.

- Ramza, Delita, we're going to have words with father. Come.

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><p>He finally got the necessary skills to be trained as the class he always wanted to be, and the first assignment his master gave him had to be to track down and kill the freaking Death Knight and any accomplices he might have! Albert sighed to himself as he snuck back into the shadows, his latest "tip" having been forced out of a Hokuten cadet that had fled from a battle in the Mandalia Plains. But instead of going that way, Albert concluded that if there really was a knight from another province in danger and Sevrian rescued him, then the Death Knight was likely to return toward his family's state, and there would be where he'd wait. The ninja sighed once more as he traveled, silently, by the shadows of the trees and the large rocks, common in that place. Dycegard had just sent him to his death, he knew it.<p>

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><p>AN: I had this story on my head for a while now. Naruto, Prince of Fabul will still be my main story, but with so many different stories dancing in my head I decided to post a prologue of sorts for some of them so that I may <strong>focus<strong> again ._.

Now, about this story. I love Final Fantasy Tactics, I really do, but I felt that Ramza was something of a let down in terms of skill when in comparison to his brothers and father, so in this story you can expect him to be kicking assess and taking no names. The OC may seem overpowered, and that's exactly what I wanted for him. He will be the Hokuten's Orlandu. There will pretty much be no match for him throughout the story, but as you'll (hopefully) see in his backstory, it's well deserved. Oh, and as you may (or may not =P) notice, this story will be on the lighter side of things, so while there will be some heavier moments don't expect**dark** scenes.

Right now I'm considering a Ramza/Alma/Agrias triangle, OC/Teta and Delita/Balmafula. I may or may not extend Ramza's pairing to include Ovelia.

Well...I hope you guys enjoy this little intro, as much as I enjoyed writting it '-'

See ya o/


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